“You—you…!” Jenna sputtered furiously.
“Plumbing genius?”
Jenna dropped the thingamajig and the screen onto the counter, pivoted and shoved him in the chest with the heels of both hands. “Not the words I would have chosen.”
“Really.” Grinning, Jake caught her wrists before she could shove him again. He tugged her all the way into his arms. “What would you have chosen?”
“Inept. Stubborn. Infuriatingly male!”
He turned her so her back was resting against the sink. “Keep going.”
Jenna saw the determined, sexy glint in his eyes and ignored it just as resolutely. “Determined—”
“To have you.” Jake’s arms tightened possessively around her waist as his breath brushed her face. “True. So true.”
“Jake—”
“And sorry.” Ever so gently, he pushed the hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. The intensity of his dark, gray eyes mesmerized her. “So sorry that I ever let you go.”
Jenna was sorry, too. She sighed softly as she searched his eyes. “But we did let each other go.” She had to keep remembering that. She didn’t want to be caught off guard if the same thing happened again.
“A mistake,” Jake agreed firmly, as he lowered his head and slanted it over hers. He kissed her squarely on the mouth and pressed his arousal firmly against her. “One I don’t intend to make again.”
If only she could believe that, Jenna thought as his lips covered hers in a searing, sensual kiss. Heaven knew she wanted to, she thought, as the kiss deepened, turned more erotic yet. Needed to believe it. And yet, the past did exist. The heartache from years ago did remain….
Jake felt the change in her and lifted his head. “What?” he prodded, wanting to know why she had suddenly tensed in his arms.
Jenna fought her desire even as she shook her head, curled her fingers into the damp fabric of his shirt. Putting as much distance as she could between them, she splayed her fingers across his chest and felt his heart thud against her palm, its urgent rhythm marching in lockstep with hers. “We shouldn’t,” she whispered. “Not when everything else is still so uncertain.” Not when so many things can still go wrong.
“Yes, Jenna,” Jake said huskily as he tunneled one hand through her hair, tilted her head back and pressed his lips to hers. “We should.” He pulled her closer and kissed her long and hard and deep. Unable to prevent herself from giving in, just a little, just for a moment, Jenna kissed him back the way she had wanted to kiss him all day, sweetly and lingeringly. It was so much easier to just follow the hidden wellspring of passion and desire Jake had unleashed within her than to fight. So much easier just to let herself be carried away on the sweet riptide of romance, so much easier to simply let their desire lead where it might. And yet, was a casual love affair what she wanted, what they both needed? Or was it the self-indulgent way out, a way to keep them from discussing and discovering all that they should?
Not sure of anything, except how much she wanted him, how much she had always wanted him, Jenna tore her lips from his. She had to be sensible here, she reminded herself firmly. And not let herself get hurt again. “Jake, I—”
He ignored her soft, muffled protest as his glance roved over her flushed face and diamond-bright eyes. As usual, he seemed exceedingly confident they would both get everything they wanted, and more. Because that was the way it had been for him his whole life. “That’s it.” He lifted her up on the counter and stepped between her thighs. With strong, sure fingers, he unbuttoned her sky-blue blouse, looked deep into her eyes. “Tell me what you want,” he urged in a low, husky whisper.
“Not…this,” Jenna whispered defiantly. But her head fell back and she arched her back as his hands slid beneath the lace of her bra and claimed her breasts.
“Then how about this?” His lips drew lazy patterns on her breasts, from base to tip. Sensations fluttered through her. Arrows of fire shot through her, turning her limbs to putty, and making her cling to him as if he were a life ring in a raging sea. “Or this?” He trailed kisses down her stomach. “Or this?” He pushed up her long skirt until it was bunched up around her waist and kissed her thighs. Jenna trembled uncontrollably, remembering how thoroughly and completely he had made her his the last time he had kissed and touched and loved her like this. But lovemaking, without a rock-solid relationship behind it, was no route to a safe and secure future. And that was what she wanted, Jenna told herself firmly.
“Stop.” She caught Jake’s hands before he could undress her further. Knowing she would be lost if they continued, she pushed her skirt back down over her knees.
Jake didn’t look happy about it, but he did as she asked. Straightening, he braced a hand on either side of her and studied her face. “What’s the matter?” he asked impatiently.
And it was the frustration in his face that made her feel pressured. “You always do this to me,” she chided softly, as she drew the damp edges of her blouse together and rebuttoned it with trembling hands. “Make me lose sight of everything but you.” Many more kisses, Jenna knew, and she wouldn’t be remembering Melinda or his mother and father or the way all of them were seemingly determined to keep her and Jake apart. Many more kisses and all she would be thinking about was just how soon they could be upstairs and in his bed, instead of just how badly she and he could both be hurt if this didn’t work out—again.
Jake let out a long, slow breath. For a moment, he looked as vulnerable as she felt. “And that’s bad?”
No, just unnerving and dangerous, Jenna thought as she hopped down from the counter and buttoned her blouse. “I’ve vetoed any romantic entanglement for so long that now I’m not used to thinking about anything but my family and my business and…I don’t want to have you disappear from my life again either. I want us to be friends. Lifelong friends.”
Jake waited until she had finished fastening her shirt, then leaned closer, caging her in with his arms. “I want to be a helluva lot more than your lifelong friend, Jenna. I want it all. Friendship. Love. The marriage we were going to have—should have had—if my parents hadn’t interfered.”
Jenna wanted that, too. The problem was, his parents were still interfering, and now, so was his ex-wife Melinda. Plus, there was Alexandra to consider. Jenna didn’t want to see Jake’s child hurt, or caught in the crossfire between the adults, and it was very likely Alex would be hurt, in some way or another, if Jenna and Jake got any more involved. Jake had to know that. Whether he would admit it or not was another matter, though.
Still struggling for composure—not easy when her body was tingling and yearning for more of his incredibly exciting lovemaking—Jenna sighed and raked both her hands through her hair. “The problem is, Jake, we can’t always have everything we want in this life.” And I do want you. So much.
Jake narrowed his eyes at her and retorted critically, “Thinking that way will only ensure you don’t get what you want.”
A mixture of fear and anger sifted through Jenna. She stared up at Jake, knowing now she, too, had crossed some imaginary line in the sand with him. “You’re angry,” she stated, reminded that he was a man who was very much used to getting exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it.
“Frustrated as all get-out,” Jake corrected flatly. He cupped both her arms warmly, told her earnestly, “Darn it, Jenna. We’ve wasted so much time already. Time we can never get back.” Emotion shimmered in his eyes. “I don’t want to waste any more.”
Jenna felt tears gathering behind her eyes, a knot building her throat. Her heart was telling her to forget all her uncertainty and confusion and just be with him. Her brain was telling her to slow down. Big-time. She swallowed hard, insisted stubbornly, “I don’t want to get hurt again, Jake.”
“You won’t,” Jake insisted passionately.
Jenna let out an exasperated breath as she remembered the last time he had promised her that. “You say that now. You may even mean it.”
“I do mean it
, damn it,” Jake interrupted hotly.
Jenna flattened her hands against the hard musculature of his chest and pushed away from him. She was tired of listening to his rosy, impractical view of the future. Tired of having her hopes raised impossibly high, only to have them dashed again. “You also said it before—and I did get hurt, Jake,” she reminded him grimly, remembering how he had coaxed her into packing a bag, sneaking out of the house and meeting him at midnight so they could elope.
“We both got hurt.” Jake agreed. “And it’s too bad, but that’s still no reason not to try again.”
Confused, Jenna started to move by him. “This whole evening was a bad idea. We obviously can’t be alone together without—”
Jake blocked her way. He took both her hands in his. “Yeah, we can. Stay and I’ll prove it.” His eyes searched hers as his hold on her gentled. “I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman the rest of the evening.”
Jenna hesitated. The truth was, she didn’t really want to end the evening on this note any more than he did.
“The least we can do tonight is continue rebuilding our friendship,” Jake said.
“That’s true.” Jenna sighed. They both agreed on that—they did want to be friends again. So she relented. And stayed for an evening of platonic fun. The trouble was, that wasn’t what she wanted, either. What she wanted was what he couldn’t give her—what no one could give her—a guarantee that this time their love would work out, not just for now, but forever.
“IT WAS A BROKEN VALVE inside the faucet,” the plumber said, an hour later when he’d finished the emergency call. “That’s why the faucet suddenly quit on you. It’s right as rain now.”
“That’s great.” Jake paid the plumber, adding an extra fifty for his trouble, and shook his hand. “Thanks for coming out.”
“No problem.” The plumber grinned. “I was happy to get the double time. You-all have a nice evening, now.”
“Thanks. We will.” Jake walked the plumber out, then returned. “Ready to grill the steaks now?”
“To tell you the truth, I’m famished.” Now that she’d calmed down and gotten her libido back in check, Jenna realized it had been silly to think she couldn’t be with Jake—alone—without giving in to the passion flowing between them. They were doing just fine having a quiet, friendly evening at the ranch. True, they’d had a little kissing slip, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get right back on track. All she had to do was keep the goal—friendship and a business partnership that was strong enough to endure with or without an accompanying romance—in mind and she would be fine.
Dinner went off without a hitch, as did the feeding and exercising of Buster and Miss Kitty. They spent some time going over business and reviewing the department stores Jenna should pitch her new line to. Then, when they were finished discussing that, more time just talking and catching up on the years they had spent apart. Throughout it all, Jenna continued sewing Alex’s dress. Finally, the dress was finished—except for the hem, which Jenna was hoping to check on Alex before she pinned and whipstitched it. Jake touched the sewn-on letters and numbers as he admired the finished garment. “Alex is really going to love that dress.”
“Thanks. I hope so,” Jenna said.
The moment drew out. Jake was oddly quiet. Jenna studied his face, saw the parental worry he was too much of a man’s man to admit. “Why don’t I give Meg a call and see how Alex’s doing?”
Jake shrugged. “If you think it’s necessary.”
Jenna grinned. She knew a put-on cool when she saw one. “I think we’ll all sleep a little better if we know she’s okay,” she said, loving—and liking—Jake all the more because he did care so deeply about his daughter. “And I’ll also see if Meg wants us to bring anything to the brunch tomorrow.” Jenna picked up the phone and dialed. She got Meg on the second ring.
“Well?” Jake said, as soon as Jenna hung up.
“They had a great time. Alex ate like a stevedore. They loved the movie and now are both fast asleep and have been that way for an hour.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. I know what it is to love someone.”
They exchanged smiles as a feeling of deep, abiding intimacy descended between them.
Much more of this cozy tâte-à-tâte, and they really would end up making love again, Jenna realized. Her pulse accelerating at the unprecedentedly amorous nature of her thoughts, Jenna glanced at her watch, saw it was nearly ten-thirty. She feigned a yawn, stretched. “I hadn’t realized it was so late,” she fibbed as she gathered up her sewing supplies. “I’d better head on home.”
“There’s no reason for you to go back to town, especially when you’re so tired. You already have an overnight bag here and probably at least one clean change of clothes. Stay here tonight.”
He was so persuasive, Jenna thought, averting her eyes from the tempting proximity of his lips. Too persuasive. Jenna knew she should leave, and yet she found herself saying, almost before she could think, “All right. I guess I could stay here tonight.” She closed her sewing kit with a snap. “Isn’t it time to let Buster and Miss Kitty out again?”
Jake grinned as he took her hand in his and looked down into her face. “I’m sure they think so.”
Buster whimpered enthusiastically when he saw them, then wagged his tail so hard he fell over. Miss Kitty purred as Jenna picked her up and cuddled her close. When she placed her on the ground again, she ran back and forth in the grass with Buster, then came back to play with the hem of Jenna’s long, summery skirt and paw at the laces on her shoes, while Buster chased a ball with Jake.
When they tired of that, Buster and Miss Kitty scampered round and round in the yellow glow of the porch light while Jake and Jenna watched and held hands and laughed. Finally worn out, Buster and Miss Kitty ventured over to drink water from their bowls and then flop belly-first on the ground.
“I think I’ll put Buster’s crate in my room, like I did last night, so I can hear him if he wakes up and needs to go out,” Jake decided. He gathered Buster in one hand, the portable pet carrier in the other, while Jenna picked up Miss Kitty and carried her to the laundry room, where her litter box, water, scratching post and cat bed were set up. “Then, when he gets a little older, and is thoroughly house-trained and able to sleep through the night,” Jake decided, “he can sleep in Alex’s room.”
“That will make Buster one happy puppy.” Jenna smiled and explained, “Dogs are pack animals. They want to sleep with the rest of their pack or family.”
Jake followed Jenna up the stairs. “What about cats?”
“Cats are more aloof—when they want to curl up on your lap, they do, and when they want to be alone, they find a nice quiet place. Kittens, on the other hand, are more sociable. But they also need to be in a warm, safe place with easy access to their litter boxes when they aren’t being watched, because there is just too much for them to get into that could hurt them. Houseplants, electric cords, household chemicals.”
“I can see I still have a lot to learn.” Jake paused outside her room, Buster and his crate still in hand.
“I can help you. You and Alex will be pros in no time. You’ll see.”
Jenna reached for Buster, taking him from Jake. She held the fluffy golden puppy cuddled against her chest. Buster sighed and looked up at her with sleepy, liquid brown eyes as she scratched behind his ears. Jenna looked over at Jake. “You don’t have to get up with Buster tonight. I’ll do it since I’m here.” She had the feeling she wouldn’t be sleeping that well, anyway, remembering how Jake had kissed and caressed her earlier, knowing he was just down the hall.
Jake regarded her skeptically. “You’re sure you don’t mind getting up in the middle of the night with Buster? Last night, his bladder only held out until around 4:00 a.m., then it was out to the backyard for a run.”
Jenna gave Jake a mock-stern look. “I don’t mind. I really miss having animals in my life.”
Jake gave her a sexy wink. “And here
I was, hoping you were doing it to be nice to me.”
Jenna couldn’t help but grin at his aw-shucks drawl. She gave him a playful punch in the arm. There was no denying it—he was just dying to take her to bed again. “You just never give up, do you?” she drawled right back.
“This time I won’t.” He gave her a look that said he meant it.
Her heart pounding, Jenna tried to push him out her bedroom door. “Good night, Jake.”
Being careful not to squish Buster, Jake grabbed Jenna, kissed her breathless. When he drew back, all the love she had ever wished for was in his eyes. “Good night.”
NO DOUBT exhausted from his midnight run and all the activity the past few days, Buster settled down in his crate and went right to sleep. Jenna was a different matter. Even after she washed her face, brushed her teeth, put on her nightgown and climbed into bed, she was no more ready for sleep than if she had just completed an invigorating six-kilometer run. Still tingling from Jake’s brief but oh-so-sexy good-night kiss, not to mention their earlier unfinished lovemaking, Jenna was restless. Edgy. Dissatisfied.
Fearing she would wake Buster if she kept tossing and turning, she finally slipped out of her bed, grabbed her matching robe and went downstairs, sketch pad in hand. In the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of milk, took it into Jake’s study and settled on the sofa.
There was only one solution for nights like these. Work. Realizing she still had a lot of dresses left to make for Alex if she were to live up to her bargain with Jake and satisfy Melinda, Jenna began to sketch. Quickly, she translated her vision into a drawing on the page, completing first one dress, then another, her ideas coming faster with every second that passed.
WHAT WAS TAKING so long? Jake wondered, a little over an hour later. He rose from his bed and went to the window. The backyard was still dark. No sign of Buster or Jenna out there.
So why had she left her bed?
What was she doing?
Was she hungry? Sick? Bored? Restless? As restless as he was?
Telling himself that as host it was his responsibility to make sure Jenna had everything she needed and wanted, Jake decided to find out where she had gone and why.
The Bride Said, Finally! (The Lockharts of Texas) Page 16
